Building Bridges

This study reveals many of the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from taking part in post-secondary education or vocational training. These barriers include rigid competency-based admission criteria, negative attitudes of instructors, funding structures that promote segregation and labelling of the disabled, and lack of alternatives to traditional vocational certification. The study first frames education as a human right and then explores the legal and policy context for inclusive post-secondary education in the provinces. Chapters examine the practice of inclusion, the systems of supports for instructors and students, and means of overcoming key obstacles in the promotion of inclusive post-secondary education for persons with intellectual disabilities. Case summaries are included which illustrate the defence of inclusive education in the courts. Implications of fiscal restraint on post-secondary education of disabled persons are also discussed. The appendix includes statistical tables on post-secondary students with disabilities.